Butler faces St. Louis team guided through grief by Jim Crews' steady hand

5:15 PM,
Feb. 21, 2013

St. Louis interim coach Jim Crews during a game earlier this month.

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Jim Crews professes to keep things simple, navigating circumstances that have been anything but that.

As interim coach, the 59-year-old Crews has led St. Louis to first place in the Atlantic 10 and is endorsed by Butler's Brad Stevens as national Coach of the Year. St. Louis throttled No. 24 VCU on Tuesday and will try to beat another ranked team Friday night when the Billikens face 15th-ranked Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

In a volatile season of college basketball, St. Louis has stayed steady under Crews, a former Indiana player and assistant coach. ...